A Conclusion to the Perfect Place to Die

Why is the Aokigahara such a hot spot for suicides? Is it haunted by the spirits of the dead? After spending multiple days contemplating the reason why so many suicides take place in the Aokigahara Forest I have came to a conclusion. I believe there are factors that play a part. First, Kuroi Jukai, the novel published about two lovers who commit suicide in the forest seems to be a big factor. After the novel was released the suicides started to increase by a great number. The romance portrayed in the book is an attraction to outsiders, everyone wants that eternal love. Second, the fact that the sea of trees was in The Complete Manual of Suicide also plays a big part. The manual is often found with the belongings of the lost souls, they actually believe the forest is "The perfect place to die." Third, the fact that the forest is in complete darkness and pretty much impossible to get out is also a reason. Like in similar reported cases many people change their minds and decide to trace their steps with the help of tape but fail. Some are in the forest for days and die or starvation. Compasses and GPS systems don't seem to work when you go deep in the darkness, so even if they tried the forest makes in close to impossible to get out alive. Is the forest haunted? When Lisa Lee Harp Waugh took
an exploration through the trees she claims she was possessed by a spirit. Do I believe this? No. I believe the forest is haunted however. With so many people deciding to take their lives there has to be some sort of paranormal activity within the forest. Some residents claim spirits don't allow suiciders to have a way out. They want them too share the same fate they did. I believe this, yes. Haunted or not, the Aokigahara is the second most common destination for people who want to end their lives. There is striking evidence that shows thaat. Even animals like to stay away, the wild life in the forest is very small. Unlike a haunted house, I believe the forest has a real reason why people are so afraid to walk within the trees.

Sources:

"Before Magnificent Mount Fuji Volcano Erupts…[46 PICS]." Before Magnificent Mount Fuji Volcano Erupts…[46 PICS]. N.p., 15 Sept. 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.lovethesepics.com/2012/09/before-magnificent-mount-fuji-volcano-erupts-46-pics/>.

Stories within the Graveyard

"There were 2,645 suicides recorded in January 2009, a 15 percent increase from the 2,305 for January 2008, according to the Japanese government" reports Kyung Lah, a CNN reporter. After searching the many reasons for hauntings suicide seems to always play a part. As stated in theshadowlands.net spirits tend to remain on or close to where their lives ended. They try to make connections with people who cross their paths. Spirits that commit suicide tend to feel guilty for taking their lives and some go as far as trying to take care of unfinished business. So what does this make a forest that could potentially be renamed a graveyard? I believe the forest is haunted by the spirits of all the lost souls. Lisa Lee Harp Waugh actually went to visit the forest and the videos can be found on the website hauntedamericatours.com. On her encounter spectators tell her to look close into the bark of the trees because you can actually see the faces of the dead. Waugh's guide actually refuses to go away from the path of the forest and claims no one steps a foot at night unless they have intentions of ending their lives. She claims she was possessed by a ghost in the forest and states the group she was with told her she started speaking Japanese. She says he told her he hung himself in the tree she was standing by. She goes on to say she tried to rip her own skin and was forced to be held down. Waugh's experience makes me wonder if many of the people who have died in the forest went through something similar, tried to escape, and never found their way out? Another story was reported by CNN. A man called Taro in the article talks about his attempt to commit suicide in the forest. "My will to live disappeared, I'd lost my identity, so I didn't want to live on this earth. That's why I went there." says Taro. He blames his lack of money as the reason to why he wanted to die. His story of survival is one of the few. Wether Waugh's story of possession is true or not, I don't know. But, I am sure the forest is full of paranormal activity. The Japanese government thinks some bodies have gone undiscovered, leaving spirits to fill the sea of trees. 





Sources: Juliano, Dave. "Why Do Some Spirits Stay Earthbound?" Why Do Some Spirits Stay Earthbound? N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://theshadowlands.net/ghost/stay.htm>.
Lah, Kyung. "Desperate Japanese Head to 'suicide Forest'" CNN. N.p., 19 Mar. 2009. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://articles.cnn.com/2009-03-19/world/suicide.forrest.japan_1_suicide-taro-aokigahara-forest?_s=PM:WORLD>.
Harp Waugh, Lisa Lee. "HauntedAmericaTours.com "Changing The Paranormal Landscape ~ One Page At A Time!"" Aokigahara Forest, Japan "THE MOST HAUNTED FOREST AND HOT SPOT IN THE ASIAN WORLD!" N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/haunted/Aokigahara.php>.

"Aokigahara: The Sad Sea of Trees." Aokigahara: The Sad Sea of Trees. N.p., 5 Mar. 2010. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://cogitz.com/2010/03/05/aokigahara-the-sad-sea-of-trees/>.

A Haunted Spot Unlike Any Other

Unlike the usual haunted houses people are known to explore and try to see for themselves what all the tales are about, the Aokigahara forest is a little bit different. Most of the people that go into the sea of trees never come out again. According to the "Japan Suicide Forest: Is a Novel to Blame for Hundreds of Deaths?", a staff reporter states that the Japanese authorities clear about a hundred bodies every year. A geologist by the name of Azusa Hayano decides to go into the forest to explore the graveyard. "Abandoned cars occupy the parking lot, as their owners entered from here and never came out" says Hayanio. Signs were placed whitin the forest with phrases like "Your life is a precious gift from your parents" and "Please think about your parents, siblings and children." Signs that obviously don't have an effect. Hayano also finds tape on the tress, usually leading to a corpse. He believes when people are indecisive about whether to go through it or not, they wrap tape on a tree as a reference point to finding their way back. As you can see the Aokigahara forest shouldn't be a hot spot for outsiders. Recently, however according to "Intruders Tangle 'Suicide Forest' with Tape", the forest has become a favorite spot for campers, off-road bikers and survival game enthusiasts. Their intent is getting out alive on returning alive, mark their route with tape. The writer of the article Yuki Okado decided to join the Fujisan Rangers, a group of part-time prefectural employees on a patrol in Aokigahara. However, the only thing he seemed to comment on was the tape left behind. Scared perhaps? So how come there isn't too many sources to document their experience through the forest? Maybe due to the fact that it is a dark graveyard that doesn't attract too many out lookers. Or maybe, since the forest is in Japan not too many Americans find their way to the phenomenon.

"Japan Suicide Forest: Is a Novel to Blame for Hundreds of Deaths?" International Business  Times. N.p., 10 Apr. 2012. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. http://www.ibtimes.com/japan-suicide-forest-novel-blame-hundreds-deaths-435714.

Okado, Yuki. "Intruders Tangle 'Suicide Forest' with Tape." N.p., 3 May 2008. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. http://web.archive.org/web/20080506060315/http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200805020328.html.

Andrew. "Lucid Dreams and Saturn Skies." Lucid Dreams and Saturn Skies. N.p., 17 June 2011. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://authorandrewkincaid.com/2011/06/17/aokigahara-forest-of-the-yurei/>.

Digging Deep into the History of the Forest of Death

Every legend has a background and the Aokigahara forest has an interesting one. In 1960 Seicho Matsumoto publicized a novel by the name of  Kuroi Jukai which translates to Black Sea of Trees in English. According to the Japanese blog Tofugu.com, John states that the novel ends with two lovers committing suicide in the forest. However, suicides trace all the way back to the 1950's so perhaps the book was inspired by the people who lost their way in the forest. Another theory that the Japanese blog has to offer is "Legend has it that in ancient times families would abandon people in the forest during periods of famine when there was not enough food to go around. By sacrificing family members to the forest, there would be less mouths to feed and therefore enough food for the rest of the family. Those abandoned in the forest would die long, horrible, drawn out deaths due to starvation. Because of that, Aokigahara is also said to be haunted by the souls of these abandoned people" says John.  According to "The Suicide Woods of Mt. Fuji" the place is said to be haunted by the ghost of yurei, spirits that stay where they died or where their body lies. Another legend says that the place is said to have massive underground iron deposits causing all compasses to go berserk giving people who have decided to not commit suicide no way out. Or is it the spirts not wanting you to leave? The forest also appears in the book The Complete Manual of Suicide and at times the book is even found with a few of the belongings of the lost souls. There are many more legends surrounding the sea of trees. They all have one thing in common, the forest is "the perfect place to die" for whatever reason one chooses to believe. 

John. "Tofugu." Tofugu. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.tofugu.com/2012/07/23/aokigahara-japans-haunted-forest-of-death/>.

"The Suicide Woods of Mt. Fuji." Japanzine. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.japanzine.jp/article/jz/957/the-suicide-woods-of-mt-fuji>.

"Wandering American." Wandering American. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://wanderingamericantravelblog.com/2011/10/17/aokigahara-forest-of-      suicides/aokigahara-forest-2/>.

A General Look into the Perfect Place to Die

The main cause of haunting and reported paranormal activity always seems to lead back to suicide. So what does that make the Aokigahara forest? According to the research I done made so far, the forest has gotten multiple nicknames through the years. They range from  "Japan's haunted forest of death" and "The perfect place to die" in research. So how creepy can this forest really be to acquire these nicknames? Although the number is not accurate it is estimated over five-hundred people have successfully found comfort in the darkness of the trees and decided to commit suicide. Matters have escalated so high that in the 1970's the Japanese government decided to do annual investigations in the eerie place on search of the bodies of the people who lost their way. Personally, I have no doubt that this place is filled with supernatural activity. When I first ran into this mystery my first question was "Why haven't I heard of this before?" It is my intent to dig deep into the grounds of the forest (not literally of course) and find out what is making so many people end their lives in this tree dominated landscape.

Aokigahara Forest, Japan. Digital image. 5 Creepiest Places in the World. N.p., Nov. 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.roughguides.com/website/Travel/SpotLight/ViewSpotLight.aspx?spotLightID=529>.